It had barely been a week into James' mind healing sessions when Okoye appeared in 'Jamestown' bearing the news that T'Challa had been formally crowned King. She had left just as quickly with their congratulatory messages, and Harry had made a mental note to express more formal congratulations as the Head of House Black the next time they met.

However, only a few scant days passed in their routine when Jidea appeared, immediately setting everyone on alert when she began yelling for Harry and James. Both men, who had been idling by the lake, glanced at each other before springing up and running over, taking note of Jidea's haggard appearance.

"Jidea, wha—" Harry was cut off as Jidea immediately grasped onto his shoulders urgently.

"The King is dead," came out nearly a whisper. It seemed like the entire village had gone still in that moment. "There—The throne has been usurped by a—an outsider. Apparently the son of King T'Chaka's late brother."

"How could this be?" Oran exclaimed in disbelief. He and Thante had come from the communal tent when they had heard Jidea shouting.

Shaking her head, Jidea's focus was on the two men in front of her. "There is no time. The usurper, N'Jadaka, has already assumed full control of the council, and—" her voice broke in a sob at the thought of the garden of the heart-shaped herb. "You need to leave. I'm sorry, but while N'Jadaka should not have any reason to find out about this place, it is not safe for either of you to be in Wakanda any longer."

Behind her, Thante and Oran glanced at each other in shock before they nodded silently to Harry and James, and both disapparated without a word. To where, nobody but they themselves knew.

"I am sorry, Healer Potter," Jidea's tone was pleading. "I know this is far too much to ask of you, but—"

Harry placed a hand on top of the one Jidea had on his shoulder, clasping it in his own. "I can handle myself," he looked over at James who met his gaze, "and James will be safe with me."

Nodding, Jidea could only whisper her gratefulness against their joined hands. "I must—I have to return, before anyone notices my absence." At Harry's worried gaze, she smiled. "We will be alright. I know that Nakia has taken the Queen and the Princess to safety. I do not know what will happen. Whether Wakanda will ever be safe for you again…"

"Worry about taking care of yourself first, Jidea," said Harry. "I will take James with me to my estate in London. We'll be fine. Try and send word to me if you need assistance."

"Thank you, Healer Potter," Jidea said as she shook her head. She took a deep breath then stepped back. "You better get going." And with that, she turned and disapparated.

The silence that followed seemed stifling and eerie, in their little village that had bloomed with life these past few weeks. All the healers and Dora had already left promptly along with Thante and Oran, whilst the villagers were already packing their essentials to regroup with their original tribes.

Harry turned to James, clasped him firmly on the shoulder and strode towards their huts. "Come on. Bring anything you want to take with you to my hut, we'll leave as soon as you're ready."

Nodding silently, James walked into his 'home' and looked around. Whilst he had never thought of it that way, the place had admittedly grown on him, and he felt some sadness at the thought of never returning to his safe haven created for him. He didn't have anything in particular he needed to bring, so simply wrapped together some spare clothes, and small trinkets the villagers and kids had gifted him over their time together.

When he walked into Harry's hut, the latter was snapping shut the potions case that his friend – Draco? – had brought awhile back. Harry turned, eyes flitting to the items in James' hand, nodding and waving his wand so that the items slipped into his magical drawstring pouch like nothing and then they were ready.

Digging around in said pouch, Harry pulled out a coin. James looked at it in interest as Harry nudged him to pinch a corner of it. The only warning he got was Harry saying, "hold on tight," followed by a "Sekhmet".


Stumbling and narrowly avoiding falling onto his knees, James blinked when he felt his compressed body spat back out in what seemed like an office or lab.

Groaning at the wave of queasiness in his gut, Harry took some breaths before straightening and nodding at James, "follow me. Try not to say anything until we're out of here, please." He flicked his wand and summoned a plain cloak, draping it over James' form to keep prying eyes away from his missing arm.

James nodded, taking in the more serious expression on Harry's face. They exited the office-lab, passed a hallway of similar looking-doors, and past a few people in uniformed robes who greeted Harry with a nod and peered curiously at James.

They arrived at an elevator, which was a jarring experience for James when it moved not just vertically but horizontally and even diagonally at some point. They alighted at a floor that was announced as the Office of the Minister of Magic, and Harry hurried along through another ornate door with barely a courtesy knock.

"Come—huh?" a dark-skinned man turned in confusion at someone blatantly barging into his office and his brows jumped in surprised. "Harry! What are you doing here?"

"Something has happened in Wakanda and it was unsafe for either of us to remain there," Harry got straight to the point. "Minister, I would ask your leave to allow James to remain under my care here in Britain." Harry dipped his head imploringly.

Shacklebolt was stunned, it wasn't often that Harry acted this formal with him. Glancing at the muggle shifting unsurely beside him, he supposed it was warranted. If he acquiesced, he was essentially allowing a wanted fugitive in with full awareness and permission. He sighed, considering the situation as he looked at the muggle; who looked imposing even when slouching and a hesitant expression on his face.

Sighing, "fine. I'll trust your judgement on this, Harry. I'm sure you know if anything were to go wrong, you'll probably bear the worst of it."

Nodding firmly, Harry motioned for James to follow him. The latter glanced back at the exasperated looking official, and spoke, "thank you… sir," he nodded his head in respect.

Quirking his lips, Shacklebolt huffed, "get going Mister Barnes. Harry's a busy man when he's in town." And with that, the door closed behind them and James trailed after Harry like a lost puppy. They navigated their way through what seemed like a messily-designed building, weaving through hurrying individuals in long robes and narrowly avoiding seemingly-sentient paper planes, until they came out into a huge atrium.

James barely had the sense to keep his mouth from opening in wonder as he turned slowly and took in the grandeur of the room. Harry had a guiding hand on his wrist, and he simply let himself be pulled along until they came to what looked like rows of… fireplaces?

He blinked in stupor as there were lines of people seemingly going into these fireplaces, and promptly being consumed by green flames, as if that were completely commonplace. He finally looked over at Harry with a silent question, but found the other rummaging through his drawstring pouch and withdrawing a small slip of weathered paper.

"Read this, and then give it back to me please," said Harry simply. He watched as James gently took the paper between his fingers, and turned it to look at the words written inside. The latter's eyebrows furrowed, not knowing what to make of the contents. "That is the location to Potter Manor."

"Huh?" was all James could say, still confused. Harry didn't deign him with an explanation, simply smiling and then directing him to join one of the fireplace lines.

"When you get to the front, there'll be a pot of powder beside the entrance. Grab a handful with you as you go in. Say, "Potter Manor" as clearly as possible and throw the powder down in front of you."

"Erm-," James tried to protest, but he was suddenly already at the front of the line and Harry was pushing him forwards. He stumbled a little, then saw the pot that Harry mentioned. Peering in, he saw a mound of glittery black powder. He hesitantly reached in and grabbed a fistful, then walked warily into the fireplace. As he turned, he shot an unsure look at Harry who simply grinned and nodded encouragingly.

Clenching his jaw and steeling his nerves, James breathed in deeply, "Potter Manor", and threw down the powder as fast as he could. He had a split second as green flames erupted around him to think of panicking, when the smoke immediately cleared and he somehow found himself being pushed by an invisible breeze out of the fireplace.

"Oh shit—" he thought he must've somehow messed something up as usual, but then blinked in surprise when his eyes registered a completely different place than he was just in. Hearing the roar of flames behind him, he whipped around to see green flames dying out and a calm-looking Harry dusting off his clothes as he stepped out of the fireplace. "What the fuck was that?"

Laughing, Harry clapped him on the shoulder and jerked his chin for James to follow him. "That was the floo. It's another method of magical transportation. A lot more gentle and safer than apparating, but also a lot more restrictive in its uses."

They exited what looked like a sitting room, and came into a long, dark hallway. "Welcome to Potter Manor, also known as my home," Harry explained without fanfare. "Let's get you settled before we start the tour." He led the way down the hall, up a winding staircase, and then around the corner before stopping in front of a door. "You can use this room," and he pushed open the doors. Inside was a spacious bedroom, sparsely decorated but still retaining a homely feel. James glanced around curiously as Harry withdrew his things and resized them, placing them beside the bed.

"Would you like some time to settle in first?" Harry asked, quirking his lips as he watched James turn around the room, taking it in. James turned to him and shook his head, satisfied to continue on with the 'tour'. Harry nodded easily and they made their way around the home.

Harry gave him only a cursory explanation of most rooms, assuming that James would have plenty of time to explore them himself. He only warned him to be careful about entering his personal lab; which is where he usually brewed some potions and kept his work things. Finally, they exited out some wide glass double doors onto what looked like a back deck. James drew in a deep breath at the expanse of green before them.

"This is the back gardens, I believe it should suffice as a temporary replacement for where we were in Wakanda," Harry turned a mischievous smirk at James, whose jaw was slack at the view. It was a wide open plain of grass, but there were bushels of flowering plants around where the deck led to the garden, and along the perimeter. Past the furthest of the flowers began a thick forest of tall trees; so packed and towering that James couldn't even see within their depths from where they were.

"Well," James swallowed his dry throat, "I guess it'll have to do," he shrugged his shoulders, putting on an exaggerated unimpressed expression as he turned to Harry. He broke not long after seeing Harry chuckle and shake his head.

Glancing up at the clear sky above, Harry hummed, "it's a little early, but how about some lunch?" At James' amicable nod, he called out "Kreacher!" and relished in James' jump at the appearance of the dour house elf.


After lunch, Harry had told James to take some time to settle in, rest or explore the manor. He took him up on his word and curiously – but cautiously – examined each room in the expansive manor. Hell, even wrapping his mind around the fact that this was Harry's home was mind-boggling enough.

So far, he'd passed a couple of sitting rooms, each looking well-used and homely. He also passed a handful of other bedrooms around his own, though they were littered with evidence of other people. James wondered if Harry lived with some others who were out working, or just regularly had guests, as they didn't seem lived-in enough for a regular tenant.

Now, James had discovered the dining room, and an attached kitchen. Inside, he was scared off from further exploration at the sight of the house elf named Kreacher. The ever-frowning elf took one glance at him and began muttering under his breath, and that was enough for James to turn and slip back out. Following the length of the hallway, James walked down a now-familiar path towards the back deck.

The doors were still open, a gentle breeze airing out the manor. Outside, James drew in a deep breath, savouring the crisp air. His eyes immediately caught onto Harry's form, sitting cross legged on the grass, his back to James. Walking down the steps of the deck, James ambled over.

Just as he was realizing that Harry had been meditating, said man turned to smile up at him, "ready for today's session?"


Y'all, probably: will we meet N'Jadaka (Erik)?

Me: mm...probably not lol

Harry & James: this ain't about him